Halong Bay Day Tour By Diamond 5-Star Cruise, Buffet, Caves, Pool

Great trip. Guide and driver were very good. The bay is beautiful. Was very crowded and each stop was very crowded. For a quick one day view of the area this was perfect. If you want a calm slow paced journey this is not it. Each stop quite quick. Jacuzzi was cold water, sun was “setting” not really a sunset party at the end. Prepare for bathroom stops at gift shops that are fairly pushy. Itinerary said one hour at tip top and only got 40 min which with the crowds was just barely enough time to climb the mountain round trip. Cave tour was fascinating and we did enjoy bamboo boat and seeing monkeys quite a lot.

Excellent experience loved every minute in particular the speedboat which cost an extra 10 USD but was well worth it

The tour was well organised. The guide made the group feel welcome and comfortable, and provided useful information on all aspects of the places visited. It was a large group but the guide ensured that it was well managed with a focus on members' wellbeing.

Overall it's a good deal. Nothing amazing as far as the sites you go see and the water is not the cleanest, but we knew that going in. Transportation was comfortable and everything felt well organized. Guides were good and the $10 extra for the speed boat was good because it was probably the funnest part of the tour.

In doubt if I should give it two or three stars... We got picked up as promised and then parked for a long time, waiting without any information. Finally, we got on our way, but just as we entered Ha Long, the driver decided to buy gasoline for the bus? Disrespectful to do that while we were sitting in the bus. On the boat, we got a lunch buffet. It was okay but not more than that. The guide was difficult to understand because of his English and because the speakers were turned up too much. I didn't understand most of it, and I know that at our table, a few others missed information later on because of this. We arrived at the cave. Was told we had a certain time here, meaning we had to walk up the stairs, enter the caves and down the stairs with no time to enjoy the place. The cave was not that impressive, but the walkway was made very well. Back on the boat, we rushed to the next place - got into the bamboo boats that have nothing to do with bamboo (you could choose to do this in a canoe instead). The boat driver took us through a small tunnel to a centre where we could see 6 monkeys and then back again to our boat. No words or information of any kind were given. Back on the boat, we rushed again to the beach. You could go for a swim or take the 400 steps up to the top. You could not do both as we got 40 minutes on the island before sailing off again. This time we rushed to get close to the city, and then they stopped the boat and we were parked for over an hour at the most boring view place. What a waste of time. For the total trip, it was rather boring, badly organised and disrespectful, making us waste so much time on nothing. How can they improve? Don't let your customers wait for no reason, fill the gasoline on the bus before picking up your guests, sail among the beautiful rock formations instead of just parking in front of the city. And give people a little bit of time to enjoy the places. This is just a money thing and certainly not worth any of mine.